Is he coming to the Lakers in the next 24 hours? Does he really want the job? How does he implement the triangle with Steve Nash and no training camp? You know the fans want him because midway through the second quarter they started a “we want Phil” chant. If not Jackson, is it Mike D’Antoni (who had a phone interview on Saturday) or Nate McMillan or who?

It was waiting for Phil Jackson night in Los Angeles.

Oh… and there was a basketball game at Staples Center, too. The Lakers beat the Kings 103-90 in this sideshow. The Lakers are now 2-0 in the Bernie Bickerstaff era. Top that, Jackson.

If you wonder how much people cared about the game itself, know that Kobe Bryant spent a bunch of timeouts talking to Baron Davis, who was sitting courtside near the Lakers bench.

The game itself was pretty much what you’d expect. The Lakers are the far more talented team and now that they are not overthinking everything — Bickerstaff’s one big change over Mike Brown — that talent wins. The offenses they are running are a lot more basic — there is standard NBA sets like “floppy” and some freelancing early in the clock. He’s letting them go out and just play.

“We’re just going out there and really playing pickup style basketball,” Kobe said after the game. “We’re running a couple things and just getting out there and doing it.”

The Lakers big men were doing it. The Kings were without their starting front line of DeMarcus Cousins and Thomas Robinson — both suspended by the league for separate incidents — and that led to a combined 41 points (on 53.6 percent shooting) and 23 rebounds from Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard. The Lakers grabbed the offensive rebound on 40 percent of their missed shots against the Kings.

Kobe Bryant added 20 points and Metta World Peace was 4-of-8 from three, doing a great job spacing the floor on the weak side, and had 18.

Bickerstaff also has the Lakers a little more focused defensively — his pregame white board had breakdowns of how they were going to defend the pick-and-roll, not much offense at all. It worked, the Kings shot 40 percent as a team.

“We’re just playing simple basketball,” Pau Gasol said. “Offensively going to our guys in positions that they could score and defensively we’re just communicating and being active and trying to limit them to one shot.”

It’s two wins in a row for L.A. — it’s their Weekend at Bernies.

That simple freelanced offense has gotten them two wins in a row. Good luck getting the same result against the disciplined Spurs on Tuesday.

The only bad news for the Lakers was Steve Blake left with an abdominal injury and is not expected to practice with the team on Monday. (Not sure what they are practicing, but they plan to.) Blake will have an ultrasound on Tuesday and be re-evaluated then.

As for the Kings, they got 18 points off the bench from Jimmer Fredette and to the Kings credit they played hard. But minus a couple of their best players — and with Marcus Thorton taking a hard fall and not being the same after, he was 1-10 shooting on the night — they were overmatched. Keith Smart had guys out of position all night, but the effort was good and they kept it close for most of the first half.

Which is great, good to see Jimmer playing well. But how about that Phil Jackson.

I don’t remember playing tonight. I didn’t play. Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play. No Knute Rockne speeches. It’s your job. If you’re a plumber and you don’t do your job, you don’t get any work. I don’t think a plumber needs a pep talk. If a doctor botches operations, he’s not a doctor anymore. If you’re a basketball player, you come ready. It’s called maturity. It’s your job.

Like it or not, motivation is part of an NBA coach’s job.

But that’s also precisely what Popovich is doing.

His credentials dwarf any other coach’s. He can play to his own ego and absolve himself of responsibility – and players will seek to please him. His years of success have earned him the ability to motivate this way, a method no other coach could use without alienating his team.

So, why not hold Motiejunas to what became a four-year, $31 million offer sheet once matched? Houston got something in return – a later trigger date on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ 2017-18 salary. Originally, that decision had to be made March 1 – which would’ve meant dropping Motiejunas from the team this season to prevent his salary from counting next season. Now, the Rockets can make that call in July, after this season is complete.

The following two Julys, Houston will also have a choice on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ upcoming salary or dropping him.

Essentially, Motiejunas is signing the most lucrative Hinkie Special in NBA history. If he plays well and stays healthy, the Rockets have Motiejunas at an affordable rate. If he struggles or his back injuries flare up, they can drop him with little to no penalty.

After they backed themselves into this corner, Motiejunas and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, didn’t do so bad. Considering the similarity between this contract and the Nets’ original offer sheet, it seems Houston helped Armstrong save face after a bungled free agency (which is easier to accept when you’re adding a talented reserve to a formidable team).

But for how little is guaranteed and how much control the Rockets hold over the next four years, wouldn’t Motiejunas have been better off accepting the $4,433,683 qualifying offer?

This means Motiejunas can’t sign with the Nets, who signed him to the original offer sheet, for one year.

I bet it also means Motiejunas and Houston have agreed to a new contract. Otherwise, why release him from the offer sheet? The Rockets would be giving up a tremendous amount of leverage out of the goodness of their hearts – unless this is just a prelude to a new deal with Houston.